Sequim Daily Photo

Our local knitting shop, A Dropped Stitch, is the go-to place for knitters and weavers. It’s a sweet little store located on Bell Street, filled with beautiful supplies and plenty of good cheer.

They offer classes and tech support. And there’s even a spot toward the back of the store where yarnheads can hang out, knit, and spin woolly tales.

This post reminds me of the cable scarf I’ve been working on for months. It sits in a semi-neglected basket, growing so slowly you’d think perhaps it was ignored in lieu of blog posts.

The Red Ranch Inn on West Washington abruptly closed last year. I was pleased to see it open again when I drove by last Thursday. I take that as a hopeful economic indicator.

There are a handful of places in Sequim where it’s as much fun to just browse as it is to shop. Over the Fence, for me, is one of them. They offer a little bit of everything for the home and garden.

I was drawn to their colorful displays on a gloomy winter day. And, based on the roar of laughter, other shoppers enjoyed their selection of humorous greeting cards.

Among many other things, the teapots were hard to resist. But the very sweet and friendly store dog, George, a little dachshund, helped soothe my regrets.

Here are two examples of everyone’s favorite heavy equipment last week. These two were parked off Seventh Street in Sequim and are probably private contractors who cleared local parking lots.

The City of Sequim reports that it used 100 cubic yards of sand and 15 tons of salt clearing public roads during three days of storms last week. Plowers worked 12-hour shifts, putting in 324 hours. Many of us live on or near county roads which are the responsibility of Clallam County Public Works which dispatches its own army of plows. Gotta love ‘em.

Les Schwab Tire franchises are located in both Port Angeles and Sequim and were named “Best Tire” in the Best of the Peninsula poll by the Peninsula Daily News. Since they were listed in the phone book under “Tire and Brake” we took our car there in November when the brake light started winking at us. They fit us in during the busy Thanksgiving week, checked our brakes, rotated the tires, and sent us on our way at no charge. And the brakes are working fine. That earned our loyalty! It’s usually busier than in this shot, taken late on a Sunday afternoon.

A partnership between Bell Street Bakery and The Garden Bistro has unraveled and Bell Street Bakery has closed. The bakery side partner, Andre Barritelle, is quoted as saying “It’s been an interesting ordeal over the past three years.” The Garden Bistro partners, who most recently ran the restaurant side of the operations are hoping to raise operating funds to continue the bistro.

In the meantime, one of the sources of good, artisan breads sold in many local spots is gone. I mourn the loss of the best brownies I’ve found here so far.

This is an aisle from one of my favorite places in Sequim, Doodlebugs on West Washington. To say they sell paper arts and scrapbooking supplies doesn’t begin to cover it. They open up a universe of creativity to anyone who never completely left scissors, paper, and library paste behind in grammar school. They offer demonstrations and “make and take” projects to get you started. My holiday cards began here this year, but that just capped an array of fun and crafty playdates with a great staff full of good ideas.